Job Title: Senior Technical Director
Location: Flexible hybrid schedule with a combination of remote work, office-based work, and onsite event attendance based on project and business requirements. Preferred locations: Dallas, TX; Las Vegas, NV; Orlando, FL
Salary: $120,000–$150,000
Position Type: Full time/Permanent
Category: Live Events/Production
Summary
The Senior Technical Director is responsible for developing and executing creative technical concepts, production strategies, and event solutions for complex client programs. Serving as a senior technical leader and strategic advisor, this position guides projects from initial opportunity development and RFP response through technical planning, onsite production, and final completion.
This role provides leadership across large-scale and high-complexity event programs, maintains technical and production standards, mentors Technical Directors, and collaborates closely with clients, sales, operations, project management, and production teams. The Senior Technical Director also contributes to business development and account growth by providing technical expertise for proposals, estimates, RFP responses, and senior-level client presentations.
The position requires strong technical knowledge across audio, lighting, video, set, scenic, and integrated event technologies, along with the ability to manage multiple vendors, crews, locations, and technical workstreams.
Travel requirements are approximately 25%–50%.
Key Responsibilities
- Provide senior technical leadership for complex, high-profile, and multidisciplinary event programs from early planning through onsite execution and closeout.
- Lead, mentor, and support Technical Directors through scheduling, coordination, training, technical guidance, and performance feedback.
- Develop strong senior-level client relationships and serve as a strategic technical advisor throughout the planning and delivery process.
- Collaborate with Sales, Client Solutions, Executive Producers, Project Managers, Operations leaders, and other stakeholders to create event designs, production strategies, staffing plans, and budgets.
- Support business-development initiatives by evaluating RFP requirements, developing technical solutions, identifying production risks, preparing estimates, and participating in proposal presentations when required.
- Review and validate technical drawings, production plans, schedules, budgets, labor plans, vendor scopes, and other production documentation for accuracy, feasibility, and potential risk.
- Provide escalation support for complex technical, staffing, vendor, client, budget, and onsite production issues.
- Assist with client contract support, project resource planning, vendor coordination, and the evaluation and selection of contingent labor resources.
- Develop technical diagrams, production drawings, and show documentation, ensuring onsite teams understand equipment requirements, technical plans, schedules, workflows, and responsibilities.
- Lead technical planning and onsite execution for events involving multiple workstreams, vendors, venues or locations, scenic components, and integrated production technologies.
- Oversee load-in, installation, system setup and optimization, monitoring, scenic construction, dismantling, and load-out activities while coordinating technical personnel and labor crews.
- Ensure audio, lighting, video, set, scenic, and related event systems are properly specified, installed, configured, and optimized.
- Create and maintain comprehensive production books, event schedules, logistics plans, technical documentation, and vendor coordination materials.
- Coordinate and supervise onsite labor while reviewing labor utilization and budget implications with appropriate production and client-service leadership.
- Promote and enforce safety standards throughout technical planning, installation, onsite execution, dismantling, and load-out.
- Develop and implement SOPs, documentation standards, technical processes, and production workflows that improve consistency, efficiency, quality, and scalability.
- Identify opportunities to improve production practices, vendor relationships, labor utilization, safety procedures, profitability, and technical innovation.
- Maintain current knowledge of event-production trends, emerging technologies, technical solutions, and industry best practices.
Required Qualifications
- High School Diploma or equivalent combined with relevant professional experience.
- Minimum of 15 years of project management experience, including at least 10 years focused on corporate events, special events, entertainment, theater, or an equivalent combination of education, certification, and experience.
- Demonstrated experience providing technical direction for large-scale, complex, or high-profile events and experiential programs.
- Experience contributing to technical proposals, estimates, and RFP responses.
- Proven ability to lead and influence cross-functional teams involving internal employees, clients, vendors, contingent labor, and senior stakeholders.
- Experience managing, mentoring, or providing technical leadership to Technical Directors, production leads, or technical teams.
- Strong understanding of event financial management, including budget development, cost control, labor planning, vendor estimates, and profitability considerations.
- Ability to evaluate technical and production risks and make informed decisions in high-pressure environments.
- Experience developing scalable production standards, SOPs, and technical workflows.
- Strong executive-level communication skills and the ability to interact confidently with senior clients, organizational leadership, and key project stakeholders.
- Ability to develop and communicate technical instructions in written, verbal, and diagram-based formats, including installation and troubleshooting guidance for related equipment.
- Ability to apply advanced problem-solving techniques and practical mathematics, including basic algebra, geometry, proportions, percentages, area, circumference, and volume.
- Advanced proficiency in Vectorworks, including the ability to create, modify, review, and interpret detailed event-production CAD drawings such as floor plans, elevations, equipment layouts, and installation details.
- In-depth technical knowledge of audio, lighting, video, and set systems.
- Ability to manage ambiguous or rapidly changing situations with diplomacy, tact, sound judgment, and clear communication.
- Experience developing and delivering training programs to groups with varying levels of technical knowledge.
- Strong general business acumen.
- Proficiency with Google Drive and Microsoft Office.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to work effectively within a fast-paced, collaborative production environment.
- Ability and willingness to travel approximately 25%–50%.
Preferences
- Bachelor degree preferred.
Benefits
Full-time employees may be eligible for a range of health, financial, family, and professional-development benefits. Specific offerings may vary by region.
- Medical Insurance
- Dental Insurance
- Vision Insurance
- Tuition Reimbursement
- Paid Parental Leave
- Life Insurance
- Accident Insurance
- Disability Coverage
- Retirement Plan with Company Match
- Paid Time Off